Roger Schmidt gave text and explanation after the lost top match against Ajax. PSV went down 5-0 in the Johan Cruijff ArenA and thus suffered the biggest defeat against the team from Amsterdam since the 1964/65 season, when they lost with the same numbers. Nevertheless, PSV’s choice lord does not seem surprised by the defeat and he comes up with various explanations for the considerable slide.
“Everyone can see that Ajax has the best equipment to become champions”, says Schmidt in conversation with Hans Kraay Jr. in front of the camera of ESPN. “They have a fully fit squad, while we are currently missing a number of important players. And we couldn’t replace those players one on one,” says Schmidt, who did not have access to Noni Madueke and Cody Gakpo, among others.
Schmidt after PSV sledgehammer: ‘We have indeed started to play less well’
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“We need a perfect season to take the title in the Eredivisie,” continues Schmidt. “I knew that from the start, so that was clear. We cannot say that we and Ajax are on the same level. The odds are not 50/50, but rather 80/20. And certainly when you are in a difficult period like this, it gets even more difficult. “What was the big difference with the 0-4 victory in the Johan Cruijff Scale? They were also good last year and two years ago and they have been playing together with the same players for a long time. Of course you then develop quickly and you get automatisms. In addition, they really have some experienced top players and so you see a difference in quality,” said Schmidt.
Marco van Ginkel also appears in front of the camera afterwards and explains the tactical choices, which ultimately did not work out well. “The battle plan was to handle the long ball more and to play more half of Ajax. You know Ajax is good at putting pressure on them, and they’ve had a good week. You don’t want to play too close to the own goal and we have a good starting point with Carlos Vinicius. There were a few opportunities, but after that we got less grip,” says Van Ginkel, who does not want to say that the title hope is gone. “It’s still a long way off.”